Traditionally, dessert mousse is a mixture of heavy cream, eggs and sugar, together with flavoring ingredients (usually mainly chocolate). A typical recipe calls for separating the egg whites from the egg yolks, beating the egg whites and yolks separately, and then combining the beaten egg yolks with melted chocolate plus the other flavoring. After blending the mixture, the beaten egg whites are folded into the mixture and then the mixture is folded into stiffly whipped cream before chilling. The present procedure of making mousse is not readily adapted to a commercial process due to the numerous beating, whipping and combining steps. These steps must be closely controlled to assure a finely texture mousse product which will hold up in extended storage.
The prior art procedure is arduous, time-consuming and requires considerable skill to produce a satisfactory finished product. It is not suitable for commercial production using standard ice cream processing equipment.
In addition, mousse is both fragile and highly perishable. The beaten portions of the ingredients, i.e. the cream and egg whites, tend to collapse within a short time. The same ingredients make the mousse susceptible to rapid spoilage unless it is refrigerated. Even when refrigerated or frozen, prior art mousse products tend to degrade. Frozen mousse products are extremely sensitive to thermal shock.
Mousse powders are available to eliminate some of the arduous and time-consuming steps in making mousse. The powders are comprised of imitation ingredients which attempt to simulate the natural ingredients. Various types of frozen mousse are available from stores in which artificial ingredients are used to replace the cream. The products typically are packed in shallow aluminum dishes and have a very limited shelf-life.
Several texts include descriptions of frozen mousse. However, these are basically frozen whipped cream with added sugar, color and flavor. These products do not have a true mousse texture or an extended keeping quality.
For commercially produced mousse, it is necessary to pasteurize the mix to prevent bacterial contamination. Therefore, the eggs in the mix must be protected from coagulation during heating. In a typical ice cream plant, pasteurization temperatures may reach about 160.degree. F.-170.degree. F. (about 71.7.degree. C.-76.7.degree. C.) in batch processing.
The present invention comprises an improved mousse product which can be easily produced commercially using standard ice cream equipment. The product has true mousse texture and mouth feel, and is slow-melting and of superior keeping quality. The present invention also includes a mousse composition which can be pasteurized and used as a base for various mousse flavors by the addition of desired flavor ingredients. The method of the present invention minimizes the number of time-consuming steps in the manufacture of frozen mousse, and achieves better product uniformity.